BY SPECIAL REPORTER
SAUDI Arabia has announced that it will allow direct entry to visitors from six countries, including Indonesia, Pakistan, India and Egypt, without spending a 14-day quarantine in a third country.
Saudi Arabia is blessed with so many stunning cities which makes it a great place to wander around. Blessed with exotic landscapes, the country has amazing topography to admire at. (Photo by Ahmed Yosri/Reuters).
The new directive will come into force from December 1 this year, the Saudi Press Agency reported, quoting an official source at the Ministry of Interior on Thursday.
Last February, the direct entry ban was imposed due to a global surge in cases linked to variants detected in Britain, South Africa, and Brazil.
Brazil and Vietnam are the other countries that are included in the new list of countries allowed direct entry into the Kingdom.
However, all the travelers coming from the above-mentioned countries will be required to spend five days in institutional quarantine, regardless of their vaccination status outside the Kingdom, the source added.
An official source in the Ministry of Interior stated that it is a reference to what was previously announced regarding the temporary suspension of direct entry from some countries to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which requires spending (14) days outside it before entering, for reasons related to the outbreak of the emerging Corona Virus (Covid-19) pandemic.
And based on the continuous follow-up of the epidemiological situation locally and globally, and what the competent health authorities in the Kingdom have raised about the developments of the Corona pandemic, and the extent of the stability of the epidemiological situation in a number of countries.
"It was decided to allow direct entry to the Kingdom from the following countries: (Republic of Indonesia, Islamic Republic of Pakistan, Federal Republic of Brazil, Socialist Republic of Vietnam, Arab Republic of Egypt, Republic of India), without having to spend (14) days outside these countries before entering the Kingdom. , as of 1 am on Wednesday 4/26/1443 AH corresponding to 12/1/2021 AD, provided that institutional quarantine procedures will be applied to them for a period of (5) days regardless of their immunization status outside the Kingdom, while continuing to apply the exceptions issued regarding some of the categories in this regard,"source revealed.
The source stressed the importance of adhering to the application of all precautionary and preventive measures adopted.
He explained that all procedures and measures are subject to continuous evaluation by the competent health authorities in the Kingdom, according to the developments in the epidemiological situation globally.